The Dream of Many

Jeff Monchilov seems to lead the life of Riley.  A real estate broker by trade, he hails from Michigan but relocated with his wife to be nearer his grandchildren in Tennessee.  While hunting for a building, he got a call from Mike Mefford, a friend who was known as “The Car Whisperer” on the TV show “American Pickers,” who told him he’d found the perfect place for him.

“I had been looking for a building to work on, preferably an old dealership with a bit of space to it,” said Jeff.  “We had just wrapped up Christmas in Tennessee and were heading back to Michigan when Mike called and said I had to see this building in Pulaski, Tennessee.  I had no idea where Pulaski was, but from what he said, the building was very close to what I wanted and Pulaski wasn’t far from our family.”

With this, he and his wife found their way to Pulaski and were charmed by the town and loved the building, which originated as a car dealership built in 1955.  The property was comprised of three buildings overall and it spoke broadly to the couple.

“It was in need of a lot of work, but had a lot of potential and was in good overall shape,” he said.

In typical fashion, Jeff’s initial offer was turned down, but a while later, Jeff reached out and asked if it was still available.  It was.  A deal was made and a series of back-and-forth trips from Michigan to Tennessee ensued.

“One night, returning home to Michigan, my wife had just woken up and I asked her what she thought about selling the real estate business, the house, everything and moving full-time down to Tennessee.  She agreed, but in retrospect, I’m not quite sure she was awake enough to really comprehend what I was proposing,” he chuckled.

Upon return though, they offered the business to people who worked with them, and the terms were accepted.  The house was put on the market and sold, and thus began a series of back-and-forths to relocate to Tennessee.

“We have a lot of stuff, it took 10 trips back-and-forth with a 28-foot trailer and three 26-foot moving trucks to get everything down here,” he chuckles.  “But, in the end, it worked out very well.  The dealership for sure needed some work, including the roof, which we fixed almost immediately, of course.”

Having done this kind of work before, little was new or overly challenging to the Monchilovs.  In the end though, finding out more about the history of the building was fascinating and only fueled the fire to create something spectacular and very unique that would allow them to showcase their interests in all-things-automotive.

“I love working on restoring various things, like gas pumps, signs, cars, and other old junk,” he said.  “This place gives me all that space and then some, plus living space, plus display space.”

In fact, the couple even renovated the old body shop building to be a restaurant.

“There are three buildings on the property, one of which was an air compressor house, it held the air compressor to operate all the pneumatic equipment for the dealerships that were here,” Jeff said.  “We turned that into a BBQ Smokehouse.  We no sooner opened the restaurant and decided that we couldn’t wait to exit the business.  It’s not for us.  We sold all the equipment and furniture, but it would be very easy for someone to return it to restaurant status if they wanted to.  At the very least, it’s a great place to prep meals and have a gathering area for private events or many other businesses.”

This would be the last building renovated, and today, the entire property is all set.

“In 2010 I started a business called Speedvette back in Michigan, which is painted on the facade outside,” he said.  “The core of the business was making C3 Corvettes look like C6 Corvettes.  It’s fun, I developed all the molds and body panels and have converted two cars so far.”

This property gives Jeff the opportunity to build Corvettes and work on multitudes of other projects when he wants to, as there is plenty of space, electricity, air, and so on to do the work.  They’ve also created a full showroom, complete with innumerable displays and signs from the gas and oil hobby, automotive, and food and beverage.  This overall theme is sustained throughout the property in all the buildings.  On top of that, a full living quarters is set above the main showroom building.

“It’s about 2,800 square feet, so fairly large, but it’s got everything a regular home would, with a multitude of special touches that bring it back to another era,” he said.  “But, it’s very comfortable.”

Built in 1955, the building was originally used as a Buick-Pontiac-GMC dealership, and around 1960, International was brought into the fold and by 1968 it became a Chevrolet dealership exclusively.  It stayed that way until 1997, after which it served a metal company and then a restaurant equipment company.

“It sat vacant for a number of years by the time we bought it in 2020,” he said.  “With COVID in high gear, Michigan shut down, so there were some difficulties getting around and doing things, but we made it work.”

Like so many projects, Jeff and his wife are ready for the next one.

“We’ve had a lot of fun bringing this property back around, it looks terrific, we’ve had a lot of luck acquiring and finding period-correct pieces such as the ‘OK Used Cars’ canopy and sign, some display cabinets, and other odds-and-ends,” Jeff said.  “But, we’re ready for the next project.  So, we’ve listed this property and we’re looking around at other buildings and properties to see what’s out there.”

While Jeff is ready for another project, he admits, he looks forward to remaining where he is for the foreseeable future.

“It’s a great property, it’s serving us well, and we’re still enjoying it,” he said.  “So, we’re in no hurry to sell it and we’ll stay here as long as we need to.  But, if the right person comes along, we’re happy to pass it on.  It’s a property that needs to be enjoyed and should be shared with other enthusiasts, but obviously it can be converted into any number of things.”

The potential seems unlimited – any takers? See more here 808 1st N Pulaski, TN 38478